Dacquoise

[TurtleMeng]

So one of my nurses has been reminding us of her B-day, which is tomorrow. She highlighted quadruple on the calendar.

Well, since I use every occassion as an excuse to bake, I opened my cake bible and said "hmmm, a taste from heaven, looks good". how hard can it be? I just need to make buttercream, genoise, and....dacquoise?

New project to tackle. Considering I even have all these left-over whites. Now what....ground nuts? but using the shredding disc in food processor to avoid getting too much oil out?(how the heck can you use the disc to grind these nuts?) Piping it? My bag is kind of greasy from the choux I did. So now I have to what? rinse it with hot water and vinegar maybe (my own assumption)? Would I really kill the meringue? Bake it forever but it might take longer to dry? WHAT WHAT WHAT?

I don't think she is having a taste of heaven tomorrow.

In fact, just reading, pondering and scaring myself, I got exhausted and sank in my armchair to read "InStyle".

I have more books I can pour over to study this. But I am already intimidated. Perhaps I do not have a future in baking.

So is it that hard to make it?

[Pam R]

I'm not sure I completely understand your question :)

It is not hard to make the meringue layer - I assume that's what you're asking about? Pulse the nuts in your food processor - don't let the thing run continuously, cuz that's how you get the oil. It won't take long to get the nuts down to a good size.

You don't need to pipe it - jsut use a spatula (off-set is best) and spread the meringue out in rounds - Use parchment paper if you have it.

Bake the meringues at about 225 for one hour. Turn the oven off and leave for another hour or so (don't open the door once you've turned it off - it will release too much hot air and it won't dry well). You can also leave the meringue in the oven over night for a super-dry layer.

The trick is, once you've dried the meringues, you actually want to ice them several hours before serving to soften them up a little.

Does that help at all?

[simdelish]

Not at all! As a matter of fact, when the Cake Bible first came out years ago, this was the very first cake I made, it was delicious, and I have since made it many times. So don't be intimidated!

RLB gives, as you know, VERY specific directions, ideally to address and prevent any questions/ problems that may arise in her recipes. I agree that sometimes she makes things sound more complicated than they are.

To answer ?'s:

As I recall, RLB adds a bit of cornstarch to her dacquoise recipe to help reduce oil buildup... so don't worry to much about that. Just put half the sugar called for in the FP with your nuts and pulse carefully. The sugar helps it along, and helps keep the mixture less oily than doing nuts alone would be.

As for the shredder disc... does she really recommend that? I personally wouldn't fool with that, just use the metal blade and do as I directed above. (Btw, whatever nuts you use, if you can start with chopped or slivered nuts to begin with, rather than whole, it will help immensely... you won't be left with big chunks to pick out)

And your bag can be cleaned with good soapy hot water, and a rinse of vinegar is an excellent idea (follow with water or wipe with wet paper towel to rid the taste). I have even put my bags in the DW, inside out, stuck on some tongs or whatever to keep the shape upright. That is a fast way to clean up before storage.

Make sure to draw an outline of your shape, and then turn over your parchment. Fold the nut mix carefully into your meringue, and bag immediately and pipe. When baking, do on a low oven for a longer time. You don't want the dacquoise to brown, just get dry/crispy. Usually I bake then turn off the oven and leave overnight.

Oh, yes, one more thing, with the little bits left in the bag after piping, I make minis (1 1/2 ") in the four corners to help hold down the paper, and then it gives me at least a few tidbits to try sampling, as it is baking to see how done things are getting. The extras, if there are any, get sandwiched with leftover buttercream for the cook!

HTH, good luck, and really, it's not as complicated as it sounds!

[chiantiglace]

Dacquoise (DaH Kwahz)- meringue with nut flour

Don't use the shredder, use a food processor and a small amount of sugar to grind the nuts to flour consitency. Fold the nuts into the meringue after stiff peaks form

Nut meringues do not need to be "dried out". Instead a dacquoise is baked golden brown because the nuts act as a binding agent and reduce the risk of burning the meringue at high tempuratures.

When washing your bag just flip it inside out, wiipe it down and dry it with a heat gun/hair dryer to get rid of excess moisture and oils.

[TurtleMeng]

Thanks, guys. Yes, that helped a LOT. I just could not imagine using the shredding disc (isn't that for vegetables?....). In fact, being a one-knife Chinese cook, the only thing I use my food processor for at this point is for baking, with the metal blade, and all the discs are still in the box. So I had to get over that idea.

I still have to wash my bag. Well, I can do that later.

I do want to attack this project. Hopefully I can post a picture of that heart-shaped cake sometime soon.

[Pam R]

I still have to wash my bag.  Well, I can do that later.

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You don't have to use a bag - but if you insist, use a heavy duty disposable plastic bag - just cut the corner off - then toss it.

[TurtleMeng]

I still have to wash my bag.  Well, I can do that later.

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You don't have to use a bag - but if you insist, use a heavy duty disposable plastic bag - just cut the corner off - then toss it.

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Oh, the only reason is I am making this heart-shaped thing so I thought I might not be so precise spreading it. Wait....why not? I hate washing more things. OK, I will try the spatula.

[simdelish]

Oh, the only reason is I am making this heart-shaped thing so I thought I might not be so precise spreading it.  Wait....why not?  I hate washing more things.  OK, I will try the spatula.

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Just be careful in your spreading, you don't want to lose the lift your whites give you. Try to spread once, don't go over and over the same spot. Use a light hand. That's partly why the bag is good, as it delivers exactly without too much more overworking the batter.

Another reason for piping is uniformity in thickness (for even baking time), and neatness. Dacqoise is also often used bare, that is -- when you have a 2 or 3 layer cake, you save the best looking layer for the top, because it is (turned over and) just sprinkled lightly with 10x. (That's also why you don't worry if one cracks, because you hide it in the middle or bottom!)